Volume 12, Number 6
Sep 1988

Events in the News

There was a conference in Italy April 14-16 on the
conservation of works of art on paper and parchment, at which 29
papers were given, 28 of which were in Italian. Catherine Rickman's
paper on watercolor paintings was in English.

In Leipzig at the Deutsche Bücherei, there was a follow-up
meeting May 3-6, to the 1986 Vienna meeting on preservation
of library materials. Participants have resolved to meet every two
years and review progress. The proceedings are available from the
Centre régional PAC, Bibliothèque Nationale, Centre de
conservation, Château de Sablé, 72300 SABLE/SARTHE,
France. There were 13 papers from 12 countries. Thirteen
recommendations were made, cheering on IFLA's PAC (Preservation and
Conservation) program, calling for more regional and national
centers, recommending that the PAC program act as an information
clearinghouse, asking all libraries to draw up a list of their
preservation needs and set up programs, and generally endorsing
preservation actions, programs and principles.

The Committee on Conservation and Restoration of the
International Council on Archives met Aug. 17-20 in
Edinburgh. Unfortunately, it is not an open meeting. The meetings of
the ICA as a whole, however, are.

Sixteen rare book libraries in Philadelphia have pooled their
treasures in the exhibition, "Legacies of Genius," which will be up
until Sept. 25 in the adjacent galleries of the Library
Company and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Visitors should
allow plenty of time for viewing, because there are 250 books,
including two that were rebound by Fritz and Trudi Eberhardt: the
Lectionary from the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and a 50-page
manuscript in limp vellum.

The Guild of Book Workers' travelling exhibition "Bound to Vary"
has been extended to two additional sites, Princeton University
Library and the Renwick Gallery. A fully illustrated color catalog
is available for $15 plus $2.50, from GBW, 521 Fifth Ave., New York
NY 10175. Until September 2, the exhibition will be at the Museum of
New Mexico, Palace of the Governors, in Santa Fe. After that, it
will go to:

The China Study Tour that was scheduled for September
3-20 has been cancelled. It will be rescheduled for Spring 1990
and will include only China. Contact Marjorie Li or Susan
Swartzburg, Alexander Library, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
08903 (201/932-8573).

Philip Smith's October itinerary includes Geneva, Ohio
(40 miles from Cleveland), Washington, DC, and New York City. In
Geneva he will give the introductory talk at the October 8 opening
of the exhibition "Aspects of British Art Today," at Saturday's Book
Arts Gallery, 235 5. Broadway, Geneva, OH 44041 (for information
call Jarmila Sobota, 216/ 486-9183). No information has been
received about where he will be in Washington. In New York, he will
give a slide lecture at the Center for Book Arts on Monday, October
17, at 6 pm.

The Midwest Association of Forensic Scientists will hold its
Fall '88 meeting in Minneapolis Oct. 3-7. The Questioned
Document Section will have its own program, and will have a 1½-day
workshop on paper manufacture and wood fiber identification for $50.
Registration for the conference is $45. Contact Karen Rumyon, Q.D.
Section Coordinator, P0 Box 40413, St. Paul, 55104
(612/224-1772).

"A Jeweller's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever
Collection," an exhibition of 160 Persian and Indian paintings, will
be at the Sackler Gallery at 1050 Independence Ave. SW, in
Washington, DC, Nov. 20-April 30. The press preview is
November 15. There is a 240-page catalog with 100 color
illustrations for $50 cloth, $26.95 paper. There will be a one-hour
program of "Smithsonian World" on PBS in February about the Vever
collection, which has had an adventurous past. For information call
202/357-2700.

Camberwell School of Art and Crafts anticipates having another
Summer School session in 1989. The course is designed to give
an understanding of conservation of library and archive materials,
through specialist lectures and practical work. It is primarily
intended for those areas in the world without conservation
experience, and which now seek a direction. For this reason, the
course will have a managerial content. Write Mr. R. C. Akers, The
London Institute, Camberwell School of Art and Crafts, Peckham Road,
London SE5 8UF England.

There will be a Rare Book School at Columbia University in
July 1989, even though Terry Belanger will be on sabbatical.
Among the 18 courses scheduled so far are the following:

Medieval and Early Renaissance Bookbinding Structures
-Christopher Clarkson
History of European and American Papermaking - Timothy Barrett and
John Bidwell.
Physical Evidence in Early Printed Books - Paul Needham European
Bookbinding, 1500-1800 - Nicholas Pickwoad

Soundwell Technical College has given out advance information on
its 1989 International Bookbinding Master-classes by Anthony Cams,
Bernard Middleton, Sün Evrard and David Sellars, which will run
sequentially between July 24 and August 25. Anthony Cans will
teach for two weeks (probably a repeat, to accommodate all the
applicants) on "The Conservation Repair of Vellum and Parchment
Manuscripts." The other three classes will be on "The Restoration of
Leather Bindings," "French Binding," and "Full Leather Binding,"
respectively. There will also be visits to museums and binderies,
and evening lectures and demonstrations. £150 per one-week class,
accommodation not included. For information, contact Greg Harrowing,
Bookbinding Co-ordinator, Soundwell College, St. Stephens Rd.,
Soundwell, Bristol BS16 4RL, England.